By Martin Owen, Owen Organization LLC, https://www.owenorganization.com/
Any discussion about tourism here on the northern Gulf Coast seems to always center around beach style vacations. The assumption is that visitors only come between Memorial and Labor Days, plus a surge around Spring Break, and all tourists do is lie on the beach. You’d be forgiven for thinking that the only areas generating tourist dollars are the areas of the Forgotten Coast, Panama City Beach, South Walton (30A), Destin, Okaloosa Island and FWB, Navarre, Pensacola and the southern Alabama beaches. However, that’s not the whole story by any means.
Obviously, there are other forms of tourism than the beach variety, although the opportunities for mountain walks, and snow skiing are pretty remote here! However, there are a whole raft of other activities that are available in our area.
Most obvious is adventure tourism, or at least what may be termed ‘soft adventure’. Much of this is still water based naturally, but these are activities that can be engaged at any time of the year. The bays and bayous of the Gulf of Mexico are perfect for kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding and similar activities. Some of this borders on eco-tourism of course, but the chance to learn to paddle board in the summer for example, seems to lead to visitors to return at other times of the year too.
A number of counties are sinking artificial reefs off shore along the coast. These become perfect sites for what are termed ‘fish aggregators’ (nice places for fish to hang out!) which is ideal for the fishing community, but also provides the ideal place to scuba or snorkel dive. Again, activities not tied to the summer months and that brings folks here throughout the year.
Sports tourism is a huge attraction along the Gulf Coast. Traveling soccer, softball, beach volleyball and similar sports attract teams from all over the US. They benefit from great deals on accommodations outside of the ‘Peak’ summer season, plus the weather is more in tune with outside sports away from the heat of the summer. This also gives the inland communities a chance to benefit from visitation. With the exception of possibly beach volleyball, you don’t need a beach to play these sports. The arrival of tourists inland brings the chance to benefit from tourist spending not just on accommodations but also spending in local stores and restaurants. This boosts not only sales tax (and bed tax, where collected) but also keeps people employed.
Although it may not immediately jump to mind, cultural tourism is also a big draw here in the Gulf counties. Museums are spread right across the area and range from Native American Culture hubs, museums dedicated to local history, and of course the various military museums and collections. Virtually all the county communities on the Gulf of Mexico boast organizations dedicated to ballet and other dance, music and symphonic groups, art and creative organizations. All these activities attract visitors from across the country.
I mentioned eco-tourism earlier. This is a rapidly growing sector worldwide and our ecology here is ideal for the eco-tourist to hike, study and ‘go wild’ in the environment. Again, this is by no means restricted to the Gulf side areas. Inland waterways, rivers, and hiking trails are amazing magnets for the eco-visitor.
Farm stays and visits are more than popular now. The ability to stay on a working farm and watch how they operate has become a major attraction. Some farms even get visitors to work on the farm during their vacation. That seems to be a double benefit for the farmer – paying guests who work for free! I have visited places that specialize in one particular crop and attract people to see how they harvest, prepare, pack and dispatch their products. They also sell to the visitors which brings a whole new set of customers. Wineries and breweries are also part of this growing phenomenon and again they are not restricted to the summer months.
Of course, the convention and exhibition sector has been traditionally strong across our area, although the pandemic has cut these gathering considerably. The good thing is that the convention centers are seeing strong future bookings and enquirers.
So, there is real depth to our tourism offerings right along the Gulf of Mexico and inland. It’s the chance for all the communities to share in the wealth that visitation can bring. Such tourism is not seasonal, or at least not restricted to the 60 days of summer. It brings the chance to get visitors to contribute to sales tax and (in many cases) bed tax, and boosts employment.
Here’s to diversification!